No Title Yet
by BroadwayIsLove
Summary: Something happens to Olive, and the Piemaker sees how he feels. Nolive. Darkish
1. Horror

At this very moment in a cozy restaurant called the Piehole, Ned was baking a pie. Or, he was trying to bake a pie. He could hear the slowly dying buzz from today's customers, occasionally punctuated by a giggle from Olive, the petite, blonde waitress. It was a soothing sound, a constantly calming soundtrack in his mind. It was familiar, and it made him happy.

"Whatcha' thinkin'?"

A voice from across the room interrupted his thoughts. Ned looked up, to see a curious Olive standing in the doorway.

"Nothing. Or Nothing that matters anyways."

She crinkled her forehead, and slightly shrugged, turning back to the customers, while a smiling brunette came into the room. The piemaker smiled up at her, longing to reach out and greet her with a touch, but this would mean certain death. So he simply settled for a smile and a welcome. "Hey."

Chuck looked lovingly back at him. "Did you see it started snowing? I love snow. It's like a powdered sugar coating on the world." She looked longingly out the window, before continuing. "I'm going shopping. So I'll see you later kay?"

Her liquid brown eyes looked at Ned, who nodded and looked back down at the pie.

"Have fun." The girl called Chuck smiled brightly and waved sweetly at him, then left, leaving only the small dinging of a bell. When the bell dinged again, Olive looked up from behind the counter, where she had been talking to Digby. A man entered and sat down at the booth nearest to the door. He was tall, very tall, and wearing in a black dress shirt, with his face adorned by thick sunglasses. Olive smiled and walked over.

"Hiya! Welcome to the Piehole, what can I get ya?" She asked, in her typical bubbly manner. The man looked up at her, and Olive slightly blushed. He was most definitely not looking at her face. In fact, she was look about 6 inches below there. She shrugged off the feeling, and cleared her throat slightly, making the man look up. "I'll have a slice of Three Berry, a la mode. And your phone number." His voice was deep and gravelly, and it made Olive shiver, but not the way Ned's voice did. This was a bad shiver, like the feeling you get when you know something isn't exactly right. But, she kept up with her cheerful smile and chit-chat anyways.

"The pie will be right up! But we seem to be all out of the phone numbers." His face dropped, and took on a slightly angry look. The small blonde however, didn't see this as she turned to scoop out a slice of the finest pie in Papen County. She returned to the table, and dropped the slice with a small smile and a slight thunk. "Enjoy!" She made to walk back to the counter, but she felt a hand grabbing around her wrist. A look back saw the man's large hand around her wrist, and her heart started beating a little faster. "Do you wanna re-think about the phone number?" he asked quietly, dangerously. Olive's lips tightened to a thin line. She hated guys like this. They had pestered her all her life. She took her other hand, reached out, and swiftly smacked him across the face. A crack could be heard throughout the shop, and even as he was the only customer, it caused Ned to hurry out to see what was going on. He arrived to see Olive pull her arm out of his grasp, and turn to look him in the face. "I'm positive." She walked to the counter, and saw a very baffled and confused Ned standing there.

"Olive, what in the world is going on?" Olive looked up at the handsome piemaker, and blinked twice.

"Whatever do you mean Ned?"

He rolled his eyes, and pulled the waitress into the backroom.

"I come out and see you slap a customer! What were you thinking Olive?"

The small blonde looked at him. "He made an offer I had to refuse. And clearly, he was unhappy with said refusal." She turned back to Ned, who was still standing there, looking slightly confused. A quick look outside showed that the Piehole was empty, and it was past closing time. "Ned, if you're done gaping like a fish out of water, I think I'm on my way home. I'll see you tomorrow!" The waitress pushed past Ned to her coat and purse, waving to him on the way out. He waved back, and called out "Good- Night!" over his shoulder. The tinkling bell brought him back him back to reality, and with a sigh, he began to wipe up his baking stone. This was ordinary, a constant in his everyday life. Put away Flour. Check. Put Away Fruit. Check. And so on, until the sanctuary of his kitchen was spotless and shining. It was his routine. A calm Ned was in the process of putting sugar back in the cabinet, when a high pitched scream reached his ears, causing his heart rate to rise and breathing to quicken. He dropped the sugar, when he heard another scream, except this one was abruptly cut short. Ned felt his stomach drop. He _knew _that scream. "Olive!" He exhaled, and ran to the door of the bakery.

The waitress had been walking home, when a large meaty arm had been wrapped around her mouth, and another around her waist. She tried to escape, but felt her tiny body being lifted in the air, and she heard a familiar, gravelly voice in her ear.

"You should have just given me the number."

Olive's eyes widened, and she kicked and struck out as hard as possible, but with no avail. Her direction changed, when she felt herself being slammed against a wall.

She whimpered, and the man laughed. "Time to have some fun, missy."

Her breath caught as she felt him unzip the front of her Piehole uniform. She kicked out at him, and in his frustration, the hand on her mouth lifted. Olive screamed as loud as she could, and then again, but she was cut off by a painful blow to her face. It throbbed, and her vision flickered in and out. The man lowered her to the ground, and smashed his huge body against her tiny one. Olive tried to fight but nothing was doing anything. Her Piehole uniform hung loosely around her waist, and she moved away from the man, who swiftly dropped his entire weight on the small body. Olive felt ribs break and bruise, and she gasped as her head swam. The last thing she heard was "Get off!" before she lost consciousness. If she would have looked, she would have seen the Piemaker brandishing a rolling pin, and the angriest he had ever been. When he heard Olive's scream, and saw the man, it was like he didn't care what happened. He just wanted to make him hurt. Ned smacked him, as hard as he could in the head with the rolling pin, knocking the man out. His heart broke when he saw Olive. He knelt down softly by the blonde and scooped her up in his arms. He tried not to notice that his little waitress wasn't moving. Ned carried her bridal style inside, and called 911. He laid Olive down in a booth, with her head in his lap. "Olive?" He asked the unmoving women. "Olive? Can you hear me?" His voice broke, and now in the light, he saw the damage that had been done. Purple bruises were spreading over the left side of her face, interrupted by a slowly bleeding cut. Her chest, which Ned blushed slightly looking at, was covered in nasty, mottled bruises, with part of it swollen. Ned felt his eyes grow wet, as he reached for her wrist, checking for a pulse. It was faint, like a bird's, but it was there. Ned smiled, remembering when a pigeon hit the window, and Olive insisted it was a miracle bird.

He saw the flashing lights of the police car, and to Ned it was like walking around in a snow globe. His world was all shaken up, and he was floating, waiting to hit the ground. Giving a Statement to the police, the man being arrested, the crowd gathering, Ned hardly noticed any of it. He simply climbed in the ambulance next to Olive, and held her hand.

Olive.

What would he do if he lost her? Ned absentmindedly stroked her hand, thinking what he would do without Olive. Honestly, he had no idea. He thought back to the day when she helped him steal the Norwegians bus, and they fell off a cliff. God, she had looked so beautiful that day. And the day when she had come home from the nunnery… It was like a missing piece of his heart had come back. That moment she had turned and asked him about their saliva being compatible.. he had loved her right then. He looked down at his Olive on the stretcher, and realized that what it was. He loved her. And she looked so sad, and broken. Not like his Olive, bubbly and full of sass. He looked down at her pale face. "Don't leave me." He whispered, and closed his eyes. Ned sighed and reached for his phone, dialing a familiar number. "Chuck?" His voice showed his emotions, and Ned winced. The voice on the other end was immediately concerned.

"Ned? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ned took a deep breath. He could do this.

"I'm on my way to the hospital. It's Olive. She's…not okay." He heard Chuck's panicked voice on the other end. "Omigod, what happened??? I'll be right there!" Ned heard her moving around in a rush. "Chuck?" He paused. "Can you tell Emerson? I- I don't know if I can make this call again." The ambulance slid to a stop, and Ned hung up his phone. He wouldn't leave her side.

2 hours, 21 minutes and 14 seconds later, Ned was once again holding Olive's hand. Except this time, he wasn't alone. Emerson and Chuck had joined him, but he hadn't told them how she got hurt. He was pretty sure Emerson had figured it out, what with being a sought after detective, but Chuck was most likely under the impression that Olive had taken a dramatic fall over Digby. Ned looked up. He at least owed her the truth.

"Chuck?" The brunette looked up at him, her face obviously tear-stained. "Are you going to tell me?" She asked quietly. Ned looked back down at Olive's hand, and traced small circles on it. "She got attacked by a big man from the Piehole. He tried to… to rape her." He heard Chuck's intake of breath, but forced himself to keep going. "I don't know how far he got." Now he looked up at Chuck. "Chuck… It was the angriest and most terrified I have ever been." Ned dropped his gaze back to that tiny hand, but heard an angry Emerson. "Oh, Hell no! Nobody touches my friends, unless I say so!" Chuck pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Where are you going?"

"The jail. I need to give this scum a piece of my mind. Call me if Itty-Bitty gets better." He stormed out of the room, leaving two very sad people, and one unconscious one.

"Ned.." Chucked looked up at him. "I'm getting something to eat. Do you want to come?" The Piemaker shook his head. "I won't leave her." Chuck swallowed a knot in her throat, but nodded. "Okay." Ned looked at Olive, begging her to be okay. The doctors had given her 4 stitches in her forehead, and said that she had 2 broken ribs and a concussion, but that she was lucky. Ned remembered nodding, and telling them that she was a fighter. A small flutter from Olive's hand brought him back to reality. "Olive? Olive are you there?" Nothing happened, and Ned sat back, until Olive's eyes scrunched together, blinked, and opened. "Olive!" Ned excitedly, looked at her. "You're okay! Thank God." A small smile graced her half- awake face. "Ned? Did you save me?" Ned blushed, his cheeks turning pink. "Uhm.. I wouldn't say save…" Olive smiled a sleepy smile. "I think you did. Because I had nice dreams with you by my side." She blinked a few times, and an unhappy look passed over her face. "Ned? It hurts." Ned's heart soared out to her. He just wanted to make it stop hurting her. To hurt him instead. Anything. On some unknown instinct, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I know sweetheart. Go to sleep." The command was unneeded, as Olive was almost asleep anyway. Her drugged and almost asleep voice quietly made it's way to Ned's ears. "Don't leave me alone." He smiled, and fell asleep himself.

The girl called Chuck saw the whole scene, and she knew what was happening. She had expected it for a while now, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He was in love with her.

She got up her courage and walked into the room. "Did anything happen?" She asked, know perfectly well the answer. Ned looked up at her earnestly and nodded. "She woke up for about a second. And she talked!" Chuck smiled. She was happy that her best friend was going to be okay. Poor Olive deserved all the happiness that she had been denied.

Ned slept at the hospital that night, in one of the chairs in Olive's room. He was exhausted. Olive woke up first, and blinked the sleep out of her eyes, trying to remember what happened. And then she remembered why her side and her head hurt. Her eyes wandered to the man in a chair beside her bed. The sight of him made her grin like the Cheshire cat. He cared about her. He had actually stayed. The man in the chair shifted and opened his eyes to the smiling blonde in front of him. "Morning" Olive chirped at him, and tried to smile as brightly as normal. Ned pushed himself out of the chair and over to her bed. "Olive! How do you feel?" She squinched her eyes. "Honestly?" She asked him, and he nodded. "My head hurts a lot, and my side is sore. And I feel.. pretty stupid and used for letting that guy…. Take advantage of me." She trailed off quietly toward the end, looking at her nail. Ned picked up her hand again, tracing designs and pictures on her hand. "Listen to me. You aren't stupid. You're beautiful and funny and sweet and amazing." He resisted the urge to add more on to the end. Olive looked at him, feeling the little butterflies in her stomach take off. "Really?" She looked up at Ned with big eyes. He felt his heart skip a beat. "Really." She smiled, and squeezed his hand. Just then, the doctor walked in, a tall lady with red hair. "Ms Snook?" Ned and Olive both nodded, and the doctor smiled. "It's good to see you awake. How do you feel?" Olive looked at her. "My head hurts, but my ribs hurt more. And I want pie. Does that make sense?" Ned chuckled, and the doctor smiled. "Yes it does. You have 4 stitches, a concussion, and 2 broken ribs. And you were pretty banged up." Concern crossed Olive's face, and she squeezed Ned's hand. "Jiminy Johosofet, that sounds bad…" The Piemaker squeezed back. She was brave. The doctor nodded. "We want to keep you here until tomorrow for observation, but then you're free to go!" Olive nodded and looked down until the doctor left. The Piemaker picked up on her change of mood. "What's wrong?" Olive kept her head down. "Do you wanna know what I was thinking about when it happened and when I was passed out?" Ned tightened up, this scared him a little. "Tell me." Olive played with the stiff hospital sheets. "If you get uncomfortable tell me, and I'll stop." He nodded.

"I thought I was going to die, so I tried to make him stop. I was wondering if anyone would care." Ned took a sharp intake of breath. "Then when I was passed out, I kept having this dream, and you picked me up and took care of me. And Pi was there, which was random… But you…cared if I was ok, and Chuck was with Alfredo. But then, you just left me and I was locked in the Piehole with only that man and me. And I was trapped." Olive tossed her head. "It was stupid, I'm sorry." Ned shook his head. "It's not stupid. I know about being scared no one would care, or that someone you care about would leave you." He looked at Olive's bruised face. "But Olive? I would never ever leave you."


	2. Leaving

**Author's Note: I'm so glad you guys like this! I've never written a fanfiction before, so I was like super excited. Guess What? I got my walking cast off!! Yay! I'm not entirely sure what I'm gonna do with this story, but I'll come up with something =p. Snaps to the readers! Oh, and I'll try and reply to all reviews! **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, babe.**

"_It's not stupid. I know about being scared no one would care, or that someone you care about would leave you." He looked at Olive's bruised face. "But Olive? I would never ever leave you."_

Olive smiled up at Ned, her eyes brimming with tears. She tried not to let herself think that Ned had no feelings for her, other than that of a friend.

It wasn't working.

Poor Olive had suffered through Ned denying her for years, and now she settled for anything she could get, and had learned to appreciate it. Her wishful mind blew any simple touch, any kind word way out of proportion, to help satisfy her lost and lonely heart. And the mentioned wishful mind was working in full drive, trying to understand all of Ned's actions, and what he said.

Unfortunately, all this thinking had to take place in a CAT scan machine the next morning, after the Piemaker had already left, with a promise to return with pie. Olive sighed, and let her thoughts run wild, escaping, if only for a moment to place where she could sing and dance, and she was the only girl for Ned.

Ned turned to look at the bell that dinged as he walked into the Piehole. He wasn't in the mood for the ding. Maybe if the bell made a lower, more depressed and a confused noise, he would have liked it, but the ding was much too cheerful in the given situation. Like Olive, who was likewise too cheerful in an all around depressing and confusing situation. She also happened to be the source of his own confusion.

Ned turned his head to counter, where the girl called Chuck had just stood up.

"Welcome to the Pie- Oh my goodness Ned!"

She hurried over to him, Digby following at her heels, clearly glad to see his lifelong friend. "How's Olive? Is she ok?" Ned nodded, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think so. She has some broken ribs and a concussion. But I don't know…" Chuck rolled her eyes at Ned. "I was at the hospital silly. But is she okay? Like, okay, okay?"

Ned just looked at her.

"What?"

Chuck sighed frustratedly "Like, emotionally. She went through a traumatic thing."

He blinked. "Uh, I guess."

Chuck shook her head, and began to walk back to the kitchen.

"Remember, we're the only friends she has."

She left Ned to ponder this and went back to the kitchen, to do a bit of her own thinking.

Chuck thought she knew what was going on in Ned's head. Actually, she would have bet good money that she did know exactly what was happening. Ned was confused.

Chuck felt a small drop in her stomach when she remembered the look on his face when he had been sitting with an unconscious Olive. He had been looking at her she was the only light in his universe.

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Huh. Stupid Shakespeare." Chuck muttered to herself, as she started to roll out dough for a cup pie.

"Are you ok?"

A deeper voice broke Chuck from her reverie. She looked up to see a handsome man, with green eyes and dark hair looking at her with a slightly concerned expression. She shook her head, aware that the man was waiting for an answer.

"I'm fine, sorry. I'm Chuck."

As the girl called Chuck started a conversation with the concerned customer, a confused Piemaker was going driving back to the hospital, with pie in tow.

He just wanted to get back to Olive, worried that she was ok, and if she was lonely. Ned glanced over at the pie, sitting in the passenger's seat. It was Three Berry, her favorite. Lost in his thoughts of different types of pie, he almost missed the turn, hauling the wheel around at the last second to make a tight turn into a visitor's parking lot. He parked, grabbed the all-important pie, and stepped out, breath making small clouds in the chilly air.

He had almost shut the door, until a small package under the box where the pie had been caught his eye. Ned picked up, and immediately recognized Chuck's handwriting.

_I knew you would forget. Enclosed are clothes for Olive, in case she gets to come home! Tell her we miss her! ~Chuck _

Ned blushed. He had forgot. The Piemaker balanced the colorful package on top of the pie box, and walked through the automatic doors, which closed with a metallic swish behind him. The hospital had a peculiar smell, of alcohol, relief, bad news and air freshener all rolled into one. It wasn't particularly unpleasant, but it was defiantly not some thing Ned was accustomed to.

As he approached the door that he knew was Olive's, the little blonde heard his footsteps, and her heart sped up. Was it the one man the she had been waiting to see?

Her face split into a smile as soon as she saw his shy face at the door.

"I brought pie." He said, pointing at the box, with a slight blush in his cheeks. Olive saw that blush and it made her smile wider. She motioned to her bed, and the seat next to it. "Pop a squat. Do you know how bad I wanted this? You're my pie savior." Ned took the seat next to her and pulled out the pie, cutting a slice for each of them, which Olive took gladly.

He smiled slightly when she called him her savior, and felt a small tingle of happiness run through him, which made him shake his head. _Olive doesn't make you feel this way, Chuck does. _He reminded himself, reprimanding his brain while he listened to Olive tell a story. Then a smaller voice piped up, only serving to confuse him further_. But...Chuck doesn't anymore does she? _It asked. Ned shook his head slightly, like he could shake away his thoughts.

"You look like a dog with water in his ear." Olive giggled at him, wincing when it hurt her ribs. Ned smiled. She had such a pretty laugh. Just as they finished the pie, and had somehow got on the subject of weird dreams, the doctor walked in.

A large man with a kind smile, he grinned at them both before turning to face Olive.

"Ms. Snook?" Olive nodded. "Yes. You can go home at around 4 today, as long as you…" Ned tuned out as the doctor described her medications to her. His brain seemed to be screaming at him. _Olive is coming home!_

He smiled and mouthed 'Be right back' to Olive, who nodded and kept listening. Ned rushed into the hall, and pulled out his cell phone to call Chuck. She answered on the third ring. "Ned? What's wrong?" Her tone was worried, as though she was afraid something else could have happened. Ned smiled into the phone, even though he knew she couldn't see him, but he was so happy it had to come out somehow.

"She's coming home! At 4! Today!" An excited gasp was his response. "Oh Ned, that's absolutely wonderful!" He could hear the excitement in her voice. "Omigosh, I have to go. Call on your way!" Ned was left standing there, baffled with a click echoing in his ear. He blinked. What did she need to do?

With a slight uneasy feeling, he walked back into a smiling Olive's room. She squealed lightly when she saw him.

"Ned! Two hours! Then I can go home!" The secretly thrilled Piemaker couldn't help but laugh at how excited the petite blonde was. Olive sank back into pillows, as he took the chair closest to her. "Promise to be careful, kay? Because I don't know if I can handle you being hurt again."

Both Olive and Ned blushed at this comment, and then they fell into a comfortable silence. Olive was watching some random movie about an older man telling a story to a woman in a nursing home. Whatever it was, she was absorbed. Ned looked at her face, and was surprised to find how well he knew it, and what he had never noticed. She was pretty, he knew that, but on a closer look, she was beautiful.

He could see the thin lines from tears on her cheeks, and smudged mascara and eyeliner that she hadn't been able to reapply. There were dark, painful looking bruises that hurt Ned to look at, and even though she had been cleaned up, he could see a thin sticky line of dried blood by her hairline.

Ned was really absorbed by her eyes. He had looked at them before, but never actually seen. They were an extraordinarily light shade of blue, almost grey, and were usually sparkling and buzzing with energy, just like the rest of her.

Now though, they had a different quality. They still sparkled, but they had the sad knowledge of never being wanted. Along with something else: fear.

Ned was lost in his thoughts, until Olive snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Ned… Neeeedddd? Hellllooo?"

He broke from the trance to see an annoyed and amused Olive snapping her fingers at him.

"Ned! We can blow this joint 5 minutes, and you're off in your little dozy-dazy world!"

She squealed, gesturing at the clock. Ned smiled, and took the not so subtle hint, handing Olive the package from Chuck.

She read the note and smiled, almost wistfully. "She's so sweet!"

Olive carefully pulled herself from the bed, squinting her eyes shut when her ribs moved, and went to the bathroom to change. Within 20 minutes, all the discharge papers were signed, and she was sitting in Ned's car on the way back to the Piehole

Olive anxiously fiddled with the huge, comfy grey sweats she was wearing, pinching them up and smoothing them out over and over again. The Piemaker looked at her.

"What's wrong Olive?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice. Olive looked up and then down very quickly before answering in an unusually high-pitched voice. "Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something's wrong? Everything's fine." She giggled and then went to examining the light blue 'I Ride Like a Girl' t-shirt Chuck had picked out for her.

"You talk quickly and don't sit still when you're nervous."

Olive immediately dropped her hands to sit motionless in her lap, which made Ned laugh.

"And you think I don't know you. I promise, It will be fine. Everyone was worried sick about you."

Olive tried to calm down, but her nerves only increased as they approached the Piehole. Ned pulled the car to a gentle stop, and squeezed Olive's hand reassuringly.

"You'll be fine."

Of course, the hand squeeze made the blonde's nerves soar even more, but she gingerly stepped out of the car anyway. Ned made his way next to her, looking like a rather clingy bodyguard, and together they made their way to the front door of the Piehole.

Ned pushed open the door and Olive walked inside, the smell of freshly baked pies barely hitting her before…

"SURPRISE!!!"

Olive laughed in wonderment, as she really saw the Piehole.

There was a pink banner, reading We Love You! Hanging over the counter, and a rainbow of balloons hanging from every conceivable surface, and the scene was completed with a barking Digby and all the customers who knew her so well. A smiling Chuck came up to give her a gentle hug, squeezing her shoulders.

The waitress felt happy tears come to her eyes, and she smiled, returning the hug.

About 3 hours later, Olive was sitting in a booth at the Piehole, eating a slice of 3 Berry pie, and looking over a card. It had to many signatures to count, all wishing her well or telling her how much they missed her. It made her feel like maybe she did count a little bit.

"Feeling Better?"

The voice she dreamt about all those nights was right in front of her. She smiled and looked the Piemaker in his eyes.

"Much. Want some ice cream? I know you don't eat your own pie."

He took a bite of the untouched ice cream and watched Olive smile down at her card, thinking she couldn't see him, and Olive watched him, thinking he couldn't- or wouldn't – see her.


	3. Dreams

**Author's Note: Yall are awesome!!!! This chapter is prolly not very good,because combined with NWSS and Winter Formal Spirit Week, I'm exhausted.**

_He took a bite of the untouched ice cream and watched Olive smile down at her card, thinking she couldn't see him, and Olive watched him, thinking he couldn't- or wouldn't – see her._

Later, after many slices of pie had been devoured and hugs shared, everyone decided to go home.

Ned and Chuck walked Olive home, and after many reassurances from her that she was indeed okay, they left her to her apartment.

Olive was not okay.

After making a cup of tea and taking some medicine, she went to take a relaxing shower and the sight that she saw in the mirror nearly made her break down.

This was the first time she had looked at her self since it happened. She had avoided the hospital mirrors for just that purpose. But now she saw what she truly looked like.

Destroyed.

She blinked back tears and slid into the shower, letting the warm water wash away all her tension. It didn't really work, but her hair smelled nice now, and that was a definite plus.

Olive cuddled herself under the covers and fell into a deep sleep. It wasn't, however, restful.

_The scene played over and over, slightly different each time but just as terrifying. The cold cement was cold against her back. She was cornered, and there was nowhere for her to run. His hands were going places she didn't want them to, and she couldn't do anything. Her breath was crushed out of her lungs. This was it. She knew she was going to die._

Trapped in her nightmared mind, Olive let out a scream.

Ned couldn't sleep.

He was exhausted, but every time he closed eyes, sights from the past days played on his eyelids like a movie. It wasn't unpleasant, but it made him feel things he defiantly shouldn't be feeling, not for Olive.

Absently, Ned pushed himself out of bed, and walked into his kitchen. He was just about to pour himself a glass of water, when a faint scream made his skin prickle. He had a horrible sense of déjà vu. He knew that scream.

Ned dropped the glass, causing it to shatter, and bolted out the door, into the apartment of one Miss Olive Snook.

What the Piemaker was not expecting was it to be empty.

He padded over the carpet, and tentatively pushed open Olive's bedroom door.

His heart immediately softened when he saw the small blonde head sticking out from under covers. She was just having a bad dream.

Chuck's voice rang through his head. _"..She went through a traumatic thing.."_

Ned sighed, and tried to swallow the strange new jitters that rose from him. Poor Olive.

He hauled him self over to her bed, and sat down.

"Olive?" Her face was crunched up, and she was rolled into the fetal position.

He hesitantly reached out and touched her gently on the face.

The small blonde's eyes slammed open, and she struggled to try and get away from Ned.

Ned lurched back, wondering what was wrong, until he realized that Olive was still in the nightmare.

He grabbed her small elbows as she reached forward to presumably smack him.

"Olive! Olive, it's me! Your okay!" He looked into her eyes and tried to get her to understand.

Her struggling gave out, and she blinked looking him in the eye. Ned shuddered when he saw fear, and a small hint of something else looking back at him.

"It's just me." He repeated softly one more time.

Olive, still breathing shallowly, looked at him once before collapsing in tears into his arms.

Ned did something totally unlike him.

He carefully pulled the blonde up into a hug, her face on his chest, and rubbed small circles up and down her back, trying to make her feel better, and ignoring the butterflies in his stomach. He held her until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

For what she believed was the first time since her death, Charlotte Charles woke up by herself.

Her feet hit the cold floor in a silent apartment, and she was confused. Where was Ned? Her heart rate picking up, Chuck pulled on a robe, and went to look in the kitchen, stepping on a piece of glass.

"Mother F-mmff!

She hopped up and down on her foot, before leaping out the already open door.

_It's lucky we live in a safe neighborhood._ She thought, pushing open the door to Olive's apartment.

Chuck took a deep breath. Everything looked ok, but she had a suspicion that it wasn't.

On silent footsteps, she entered Olive's room.

She had been preparing her self for this, but her breath still caught, and her stomach tightened.

Olive's head was resting on Ned's chest, the blonde hair fanned out like a halo. His arms were wrapped around the small body like a protective cage from the world, and there feet tangled together at the foot of the bed. And both wore a smile.

Chuck took a shaky breath and backed out of the room, and down to the Piehole.

Ned's eyes were closed but he smelled something sweet. Like strawberries or summer. He smiled, and slowly blinked open his eyes, still lost in dreamland.

He looked down to see sleepy bright blue eyes looking back at him. He smiled, noticeing how perfectly she fit in his arms.

"Morning."

Olive, who had returned to her senses quicker than Ned had, blinked rapidly.

"Am I dreaming?"

Ned shook his head, pulling himself out of bed.

And that's when it hit him.

He had just spent the night with Olive.

And it had been one of the best nights of his life.

**Bring on the constructive Criticism!**

**The strawberries and summer comment is something my boyfriend told me. =)**

**And thank you so much to the following people!**

**Megan- Thanks!**

**Grey-Eyed Girl- Thank you sososososo much! I'm such a fan of your writing!**

**SisBabyy- You make me feel so loved!**


	4. Ends Lead to Beginnings

**Ok, Firstly I am SOO SORRY. I have like the majorist writer's block ever. But…. GUESS WHO'S GOING TO CHEER NATIONALS!!!! Orlando, baby! Wooo! Thanks to all who reviewed. Your dedication is at the bottom!**

**DISCLAIMER: Not Mine. Fo' Rizzle. (Haha I'm a gangster!)**

_And that's when it hit him._

_He had just spent the night with Olive._

_And it had been one of the best nights of his life._

Ned blinked, and shook his head, wondering when he had started feeling _this _for Olive. When had his stomach started fluttering whenever she looked at him? When had he started to jump at any chance to spend time with her, or noticed every small movement she made?

Ned shook his head and went into Olive's kitchen, looking for a glass of water. He bumped around the semi-cluttered space, fumbling until he reaching one of the clear blue glasses. He turned to the sink to fill it up, when a small picture, tacked up messily on a corkboard caught his eye.

It was of Olive, back in her jockey days. She was perched on top of a tall horse that had rose draped on its neck, and holding a trophy. Her face was lit up, and she was smiling.

Just then, the girl in question walked into the room. She was walking gingerly, trying not to bump her ribs. She smiled at him, slightly awkwardly, and Ned felt himself blush.

"Morning, Olive. You feeling better?"

Olive smiled shyly at him, and walked to make some microwave tea.

"A little. I'm sore." She giggled quietly, and looked Ned in the eye, fiddling with the edge of her purple pajama pants.

"Ned… thank you.. so much… for everything. You've been so good to me, and were there for me when I had no one. And.." Olive's voice broke for just one second.. "And.. I'm pretty sure you saved my life. Just.." Her voice gave out, and her last words came out as a whisper. "Just.. Thank you."

Ned's heart broke when he heard those words. He reached out his arms, and folded Olive in a hug, which made the blonde tingle from her head to her toes.

"Olive… You deserve so much. And I would do that for you because.. I think I love you."

Ned said the words before he thought them, but he realized they felt right. He loved her. Ned felt Olive tense up. Her mind was going a million miles an hour, and she didn't know what to think. She looked up, and stared into Ned's brown eyes with her blue ones.

He smiled down at her, and leaned in until their lips met.

It was like fireworks exploding. He had never had a kiss like that that, one that made him feel like he was on fire from his head to his toes. Ned felt Olive smile into their kiss, so he pulled her closer.

When the need for air became apparent, they pulled back, and Ned simply held Olive, until her sorrowful voice whispered the one word that broke the spell.

"Chuck."

* * *

Twirling a piece of hair idly around her finger and eating a pie, Chuck felt a little like her world was crashing around her. She knew things hadn't being going well with her and Ned lately, and now she knew why. He… loved… someone else. She let her head collapse onto her un-manicured hand. It was hard for her to even think that.

She shoved another forkful of pie into her mouth, while outside the door The Piemaker steeled himself to so something he thought he would never have to do.

With a cheerful tinkle, the bell dinged as Ned let himself into the Piehole.

Chuck looked up at him with eyeliner smeared and blotchy face. She broke contact and looked back down at the half eaten mess of pie.

"Chuck.. We need to talk."

She cringed a little at how his voice still made her tingle a little bit.

"So talk."

Her voice sounded icy and cold, making Ned feel horrible.

"Chuck… this isn't working.. and I still care about you.. But I- I can't care for you.. \like that anymore."

Chuck couldn't help but smile a small smile at his floundering efforts to break up with her. She cut through his stuttering.

"Ned. Stop. I get it. You two deserve to be happy, and you need to be with someone eyou can really love."

Chuck blinked. Where had that come from?

"I'll miss you. But this had to happen someday."

Chuck pulled herself up from the stool, walked out toward the door.

"Goodbye Ned."

And thus closed that chapter of Charlottle Charles's second life. And the new chapter of Olive & the Piemaker's lives was just beginning.

**Sorry that's so short, but I wanted to give you all something! Suggestions appreciated!**

**Shout out to GreyEyed Girl, Secondhand Rose, Katie Alexandra, Songbird of the Theatre, outboundhatt, Sisbabyy and Viola23! Holey Mackerole you guys ROCK!!!**

**Thank you sooo much for all the reviews!**


End file.
